Casino Royale

Bond, James Bond.
Those words are the trademark phrase of debonair secret service agent James Bond, played over the years by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and now blond-haired Daniel Craig.
Consternation ensued when Craig was chosen as the next James Bond. Forget his intense ocean-blue eyes. Critics, instead, focused on his blonde hair and less-than-smooth look.
Could this be the James Bond of the 21st century? Indeed, he could be, as Craig ably shows in Casino Royale.
As directed by Martin Campbell, this movie reimagines James Bond, strips away the boring invincibility and replaces it with a skin-scrapped vulnerability.
This Bond is much darker and more human than we have ever seen him. He gets tortured; he gets his heart broken; and he fouls up big time.
We see a man primed to kill slowly and painfully learn the sophisticated art of being a British spy.
Eva Green is the love interest and she is no mere Bond girl. Green bristles with intelligence, and the chemistry between her and Craig is hot and more importantly, believable.
And unlike other Bond movies, their relationship is the emotional core of the film.
What Campbell has done is ground Bond in a bit more reality. No huge special effects are found here, thankfully.
And they are not needed. The action sequences are well-done, Campbell putting enough suspense to keep interest.
But it is Craig's Bond that you can't take your eyes off, a refreshingly darker Bond who we see just finding his fit in a tuxedo.

Stranger Than Fiction

I love Will Ferrell. I never saw much of him on Saturday Night Live but in his movies, he has this lovably sweet innocence. And it doesn't matter that he might be running naked, as he famously did in Old School. You forgive him and laugh right along with him because he just seems like a nice guy.
That helps him a great deal in his new movie, Stranger Than Fiction. Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS agent who lives his life by the numbers. He gets up at the same time every morning and goes to bed the same time every night. He even times his coffee breaks.
He is alone and he just so happens to be a character in somebody's book. That someone is Karen Eiffel, played by Emma Thompson. Eiffel is a reclusive author plagued by writer's block.
Her problem: She can't figure out how to kill Crick. And Crick can't seem to get Eiffel's eloquent narration out of his head.
Yes, this is all rather odd, and the movie never seeks to explain how Crick could be a character in Eiffel's novel.
But the good thing is Crick is a fully-fleshed character. Ferrell restrains himself. No wilding-out antics here.
Instead, Ferrell brings a certain level of pathos to the character. Here's a guy who suddenly has to confront his own death and he finally decides he really wants to live. Plus, he has love in his life.
Thompson just literally sinks into her character. She has a gaunt and desperate look about her throughout the whole movie, her character driven almost to the point of insanity with writer's block.
Queen Latifah, Dustin Hoffman and Maggie Gyllenhaal all bring their enormous talents to bear as supporting actors.
Yes, the ending is corny but somehow you don't mind, especially when the journey has been such a fun ride.